THOMAS – Mental Health

Mental Health Programme

At Thomas Interiors, we have introduced our very own mental health awareness programme. There’s a great deal of stigma surrounding mental health and this is something that we want to put an end to. We want to improve the mental health of all Thomas Interiors employees by providing them with support, aid and workplace improvements.

Why Are We Doing It?

THOMAS is all about working together to save the lives of those within the construction industry; Together Helping Others Might Actually Save Lives. When struggling with mental health, a lot of people try to hide what’s going on. This is often because they don’t know who to talk to and they’re unsure of where to find help. Simply, mental health can be isolating. At Thomas Interiors, we want to raise awareness and help those who need it.

Bill Hill, CEO of the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity said,

“With two construction workers taking their own life every day, we desperately need to take action. With the support of companies like Thomas Interiors, we can sustain our helpline services and develop our building mental health programme. By committing to an annual donation they are enabling us to plan ahead and continue to provide a vital lifeline to our construction families in need and we can’t thank them enough.”

What Are We Doing?

We want to improve the mental health of everyone at Thomas Interiors. We want to do this by raising awareness to the problems that many people in the workplace face, as well as having dedicated mental health first aiders there to help whenever help is needed. We’re also going above and beyond to improve the workplace environment as much as we can, to keep daily stress as low as possible. When it comes to mental health, stress can have a huge impact.

Andrew Allison was Thomas Interiors very first qualified Mental Health First Aider, but he has recently been joined by six other members of staff. Manager Nick Currie from the Small Works, Maintenance and Fire Stopping department, Site Supervisor Joe Parker, Health and Safety Advisor Matt Hollister, Customer Relationship Manager Joanne Cathie, Maintenance Operative, Gary Taylor have all now completed a two day Mental Health First Aid course. This course was run by the team over at Morgan Sindall and focused on providing training on how to help those who are struggling with their mental health. In addition to these seven individuals, another two members of staff will also be attending Mental Health First Aider training later on in the year. By making sure that as many people as possible are able to proactively help others with their mental health, we hope that everyone at Thomas Interiors will have access to the support they need.

Bernie Thomas, Managing Director said

“I am thrilled with how well the new ‘Thomas’ Mental health awareness programme has been received amongst all Thomas Interiors staff. It is something we feel very passionate about and it’s great to see a real team effort when it comes to looking out for each other. I would like to thank them all and I would also like to thank and congratulate all seven members of staff, Andrew, Nick, Joe, Matt, Joanne and Gary for putting themselves forward and attending the two-day course to become Mental Health First Aiders.”

Who Are We Working With?

THOMAS has been set up to raise mental health awareness, but it’s not something that we can do alone. We are working in conjunction with The Lighthouse Club, a construction industry charity, and Heathrow Airport MYND Buddies. By working together and helping each other, we firmly believe that lives can be saved. As having a healthy body has been linked to having a healthy mind, we have teamed up with Langley Leisure Centre. There’s a considerable link between exercising and improving mental health, which is why Langley Leisure Centre is offering every Thomas Interiors employee a free trial day and a number of other fantastic benefits.

With our dedicated mental health awareness programme, THOMAS, in place we hope to ease the day to day stresses of the workplace environment for everyone. After all, mental health is just as important as physical health.